Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
CAQM revokes GRAP Stage-II in Delhi-NCR as AQI improves
Posted On: 18 FEB 2026 6:27PM by PIB Delhi
The Sub-Committee on Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) on Wednesday decided to revoke all Stage-II GRAP actions across the entire NCR with immediate effect, noting a consistent improvement in Delhi’s daily average AQI over the past few days.
Stage-II of the extant GRAP had been invoked on 19.10.2025, when the average AQI of Delhi started exhibiting an increasing trend.
Delhi’s daily average AQI has shown a downward trend, recording 261 on 16.02.2026, improving to 249 on 17.02.2026 and further improving to 214 today, as per the AQI Bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In view of the improving air quality, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP met today to review the current air quality scenario in the region, along with forecasts for meteorological conditions and the Air Quality Index made available by IMD/IITM, and accordingly took a decision on the preventive and restrictive actions under Stage-II of the extant GRAP.
During the review, the Sub-Committee observed that the AQI of Delhi has improved due to favourable meteorological conditions and was recorded at 214 at 4:00 PM on 18.02.2026. Further, forecasts by IMD/IITM indicate that the AQI is likely to remain in the ‘Poor’ to ‘Moderate’ category in the coming days.
Accordingly, considering the improving AQI trend and the forecasts, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP unanimously decided to revoke all actions under Stage-II of the extant GRAP across the entire NCR with immediate effect.
However, all actions under Stage-I of GRAP shall continue to remain in force and shall be implemented, monitored and reviewed by the concerned agencies, as listed in the extant GRAP, to ensure that AQI levels do not deteriorate further. All implementing agencies have been directed to maintain strict vigil and intensify measures under Stage-I.
The Sub-Committee will continue to closely monitor the air quality scenario and review the situation from time to time for further appropriate decisions based on air quality levels and forecasts by IMD/IITM.
The extant schedule of GRAP (November 2025) is available on the Commission’s website at https://caqm.nic.in/.
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